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R. Elijah Guttmacher (17951874), rabbi and forerunner of the Hibbat Zion movement. Born in Borek, district of Posen, Guttmacher studied at various yeshivot, the most outstanding of which was that of R. Akiva Eger in Posen. He also studied Kabbalah and acquired a good knowledge of German and general subjects. From 1822 he was the rabbi of Pleschen, and from 1841 until his death he served as rabbi in Grodzisk Wielkopolski (Graetz). His great erudition and his way of life, which was akin to that of the Hasidim in Eastern Europe, made his name famous in the Jewish world, and a stream of visitors made their pilgrimage to him, as to a hasidic rebbe, to obtain amulets for the cure of diseases and the solution of personal problems. In order to end this kind of veneration, he published a request asking people to refrain from approaching him on such matters; these appeals, however, were of no avail and he acquired the unsought position of the rebbe of West European Hasidim.
R. Guttmacher's inclination to mysticism and his preoccupation with problems affecting the Jews of his time led him to ponder the idea of redemption and its practical realization as a solution to the misery of the Jews. He was one of a small minority of rabbis who, despite their belief in the Messiah, did not think that the Jewish people should wait for the coming of redemption passively, but rather should do all in their power to hasten redemption by engaging in constructive work in Erez Israel.
R. Guttmacher left behind many works on talmudic and kabbalistic subjects, only a small portion of which have appeared in print (many of the manuscripts are stored in Jerusalem archives). Among his works are: novellae on the mishnayot and the Gemara contained in the Talmud edition published by Romm; Sukkat Shalom (1883); and Shenot Eliyahu (1879); the latter two books are linked to the study groups established in Jerusalem at his inspiration. |
